Podcast Introduction Today we will read 1 Thessalonians 4-5. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “How To Prepare.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash Comments on 1 Thessalonians 4-5 Some Tools For Bible Study Today in my comments, I’m going to explain a bit of how I do my Bible studies, and how you can enrich your reading of the Bible, and I’ll do it in the context of today’s reading. Sound good? Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea. Chapter 4 The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. Chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 in the GNT reads like this: “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, 5not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.” As I read that, it seemed just a little “off” to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with living “with your wife in a holy and honorable way”, but tying this thought with “not with a lustful desire, like the heathen” just didn’t sit right with me, because sexual desire between a husband and wife is a gift from God.  I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. Here are some examples of verse 4: The English Standard Version says: that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, The NIV says: that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, And for good measure, the KJV says: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; So the ESV and the NIV agree on the translation the “body”. But as you heard, the KJV said “possess his vessel”. None of the three referred to the “wife”. So I read this verse in several other translations: the NASB, Young’s Literal Translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation. All of them agreed on the “body”.  The God’s Word translation, and Contemporary English Version used “wife” in one way or another. So what to do? How should this verse be properly translated? We need to go to the original language. Thankfully, we don’t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. The first thing I do is consult what is called an Interlinear New Testament.  An interlinea